Paleface Attack (9), one mistake is enough

Today’s blog entry is from an online tournament game. White plays the Paleface Attack, hoping for the BDG. Black defends well until his 19th move, which seals his doom. Sometimes one mistake is enough.

The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

When playing the BDG, it is important to launch an early, all-out attack.

Philidor Defense (7), development and space

Today’s blog entry is from an online tournament game. White launches and early attack before Black shows any weaknesses. This gets White behind in development plus having less space to maneuver. Black makes an early inroad to the 7th rank which soon leads to a very pretty checkmate.

 The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

Do not attack without an opponent weakness.

Paleface Attack (8), exposing the King

Today’s blog entry is from an online tournament game. White plays the Paleface Attack which usually (and does in this game) transpose to the Blackmar-Diermer Gambit. Black has his castling rights destroyed and exposes the King to attack. White’s lead in development lets most of his pieces unite in the attack.

 The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

Castle early and often :)

Winning the Won Game (8), Rook vs. Knight

Next time you see a position that is supposed to be winning: capture the position, transfer it to your favorite chess program, set the program to a higher rating than your own and play the winning position to see how to conclude the game. Then go back and repeat the exercise at an increased rating until you can win against it at full strength.

 The ending below is from an online game that I won, but not in an optimal manner. The starting position looked interesting enough to try for improvement. White has a Rook vs. Black’s Bishop and one extra Pawn.. Black also has his Bishop trapped behind his Pawns and it is virtually useless until he can free it. Before he can free it, he must exchange it for a Pawn.

For the readers who wish to try this exercise, the FEN is: 4Rbk1/3q2p1/3p1p1p/1p1P4/2p5/1P2Q2P/2P3PK/8 w - -

Staunton Gambit, King and Queen aligned

Today’s blog entry is from an online tournament game. White plays the Staunton Gambit and Black leaves book early. White has a lead in development and continues to apply pressure on Black’s castled King. Black puts his Queen on the same diagonal with his King and soon succumbs to White’s King-side pressure.

 The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

A classic example of how to take advantage of poor development.

KIA vs. Philidor, opposing systems

Today’s blog entry is from an online tournament game. White plays the King’s Indian Attack against my Philidor Defense. Both openings are systems, the first several moves are played almost ignoring the opponent’s move choices. Both systems have a lot of potential energy which can explode if/when the opponent makes a mistake. In midgame, both sides lock down the center and Queen-side, moving all action to the King-side. After White takes a poisoned Rook, the ending is fairly easy.

 The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

Be very careful of moving the Queen to a file or diagonal that can be opened.

Philidor Defense (6), losing the advantage

Today’s blog entry is from an online tournament game. I’m refining my new Philidor Defense. White loses a tempo early and makes other minor errors. One of the problems with turn-based games is that a player loses the continuity of the game, thus the blunder on move #18. After this blunder, I continued to fight, regaining lost ground until the lure of a check lead me to the loss of my Queen, overlooking White’s Queen sacrifice and game-winning advantage.

 The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

Look at your opponent’s move and its effect on his position, both the square moved from and the square moved to. This is where tactics originate.

I need to make an addition to my SWOT move selection process to cover an omission. Black's second move in the game snippet below would not have been seen by examining the opponent's move. The additional logic is:
     Are tactical or positional plans active? If so, continue/modify/abort the plan and consolidate the position.

Owen’s Defense, a royal fork

Today’s blog entry is from an online tournament game. Black plays the Owen Defense, which I have not encountered before. When an unusual move takes me out of my opening, I play to develop with emphasis on the center. Black’s 9th move is overly aggressive and permits a tactical attack. Black makes a pair of defensive blunders and the game ends quickly.

The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

When faced with an early departure from your memorized opening, do not panic but do develop as quick as possible.